


The Ladies of Monstrumology

by willhenreeeee



Category: The Monstrumologist Series - Rick Yancey
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-28
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-10 19:58:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2038059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willhenreeeee/pseuds/willhenreeeee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote this because I may or may not really want to see Muriel as a Monstrumologist, even though she canonically hates it. *nervous laughter* <br/>Anyway, this is an alternate universe/timeline/whatever you want to call it where Muriel is a Monstrumologist. And who would be a better assistant for her than Lilly Bates?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ladies of Monstrumology

**Author's Note:**

> This first little chapter takes place sometime in the Summer 1887. July, probably.

"I feel disgusting," Lilly said to her mistress.  
They were in the middle of the Amazon, studying a species of giant insect (a dreadfully boring case, in Lilly's opinion), and the heat was making her sweat like a pig. She pulled her shirt out from the waist of her pants and flopped it around, trying to get some fresh air onto her stomach.  
"You can bathe," said Muriel, who was currently taking notes on the insect they had caught.  
"Where?"  
"In the water, dear girl, where else?"  
"But... um..."  
"What?"  
"What about piranhas, ma'am?"  
Muriel shook her head. "They only eat animals that are dying or dead, they're of least concern to you. All you have to be wary of are the leeches. OH, and don't urinate in the water."  
"...Why not?"  
"There is a species of fish that is fond of crawling up urethrae."  
"Oh. I-I won't urinate in the water, then."  
"You'd better not. I'm not going to be the one to dislodge the fish from your urethra."  
"Yes ma'am..."  
"I myself am going out to catch a new specimen," she continued, standing up. "I'm very happy over the amount we've caught so far! Now, be careful. You wouldn't be a very good Monstrumologist if you were dead at the bottom of the river."

Lilly, thoroughly disturbed, got up and went over to the riverbank, which was not too far away from where they had set up camp. She dipped her hand into the water to test it, and to her surprise, it was cool. A fish brushing up against her fingers made her jump.  
"Don't be afraid, Lillian," she said to herself quietly. "You stare down beasts that would drive a grown man to insanity every day, you can handle a stupid river with leeches and piss fish."  
She stripped and stepped into the water tentatively, then decided to dive in to get it over with. She was actually having a very nice time when something caught her eye- a Tapir.  
"Awww! You're my favorites!" she cooed to it.  
The tapir paused at the river's edge, it's nostrils flaring as it breathed in and out. It made a startled noise and went back the way it came.  
"Wait! I didn't mean to scare you!" Lilly called.  
She knew it was foolish, but it was a dream of hers to pet a Tapir. She found them to be adorable, even though Muriel insisted that they were wild animals of no interest to them and should be left alone. She pushed her mistress's words out of her mind and went back up on the bank, changing back into her clothes quickly. She tried to follow the Tapir's path, but quickly became lost in the lush jungle. Sighing, she was about to turn back, but found herself stuck. She quickly saw what had happened- she had gotten herself caught in quicksand. Cursing, Lilly grabbed onto a tree to give herself some leverage, but she only managed to pull one foot out before toppling over. Luckily, her other foot had slipped out. However, she caught herself on her hands, which sank a bit into the muck themselves. Lilly felt like crying, not out of desperation so much as embarrassment. What would Muriel say if she found her stuck in quicksand like some inexperienced fool?  
She tried to remember if there was even a time that she was taught how to get out of it. She decided the best bet would be to quickly roll out, even though it would get her even dirtier than before.  
"It doesn't matter," she said to herself. "I can always take another bath in the river..."  
At that moment, a rustling in the bushes startled her. Her friend the Tapir broke through the treeline, making a bizarre squealing noise. Clearly, it was terrified. Lilly swallowed hard, hoping whatever was chasing it wouldn't find her to be a more tempting morsel.  
As soon as she had finished that silent prayer, a large beast crashed through where the Tapir had come from. She had been expecting a jaguar, but instead she was met with an animal she had never seen before. It was larger than a jaguar, with reddish gold and spotless fur. It had a much stockier body as well. The only thing that seemed to resemble a jungle cat was its square, feline face.  
It turned to her and snarled. Within seconds, was leaping at her. As she suspected, it realized that she was much easier prey.  
Lilly screamed and put her head down, desperately trying to covered the vulnerable back of her head with her hands, which were wedged tight in the quicksand. She whimpered as she waited for the impact, but it never came. Instead, she could only hear the creature. Though it sounded close, it didn't seem to be trying to clamp down on her.  
She lifted her head and peaked through one open eye. To her shock, the creature's face was only a few inches away from hers; so close she could smell its breath. When it hit the ground, it had become stuck in the quicksand as well, the impact sinking its paws in deep. Lilly took the chance to attempt to roll away, and to her relief, her hands were close enough to the surface that she managed to break out with some tugging. She quickly scrambled to solid ground, breathing heavily. The creature stared at her, angry and confused, desperately attempting to get to her. And even though it was trying to kill her, Lilly couldn't help but feel sorry for the beast.  
"I'll help you," she promised. "But you have to promise not to kill me."  
The creature studied her, its eyes filled less with understanding and more with a fiery determination that reminded her of Pellinore Warthrop.  
Sighing, she went around to the side of it, trying to asses where she could touch it without it being able to bite her. The beast had stopped growling, and now was just panting, watching her with its golden eyes.  
She touched her hand to its flank, and it snarled, making her jump. But she placed her hand back, knowing it wouldn't be able to reach her unless it broke out on its own (which she doubted it would). The fur was course, like any other big cat, but to her surprise it was also oily. She frowned, rubbing the grease between her fingers. She looked down at its back paws, and just as she suspected, it had webbed toes.  
"Why, you're semi-aquatic, aren't you? Like a Tapir!"  
The creature responded with something between a snort and a growl.  
"Hmm..." Lilly said. "I wonder what you are. I've never seen nor read about a creature like you. And I'm sure if you were something in Monstrumology, I would know about you."  
The creature stared daggers at her.  
"Very well then. I'll go ask Muriel. Why, she may even know how to help you out! I'd hate to see you die because you were just being what you are; a predator."  
She ran off, and heard the creature attempt to scramble after her. She stopped short when she heard a loud "POP!". Flushing, she turned to find the creature had used its own upper body strength to pull itself out of the quicksand, and was now barreling towards her.

Lilly screamed again, and ran as fast as she could, nearly tripping over herself. As she ran, she noticed that the beast was trying to drive her towards the water- its domain. Lilly didn't want to go there under any circumstances, so she simply charged over to a tree, which she climbed within a few seconds. Bless her childhood hobbies!  
As she figured, the creature wasn't able to climb, and just stood at the trunk, snarling and clawing at her.  
Lilly laughed. "I don't pity you anymore, monster! In fact, you seem very capable of taking care of yourself."  
The creature used its powerful legs to get up onto one of the branches.  
"DR. BARNES!" Lilly screeched, nearly falling off her own branch. She scurried down the other side, praying the creature wouldn't be able to get to her before she hit the ground running. But a piercing bang got to it first, and it flopped down to the ground with a solid thud.  
She turned to find Muriel, panting and furious, with a container holding a huge centipede clutched to her chest.  
"You said you were going to take a bath," she panted. "Instead, you end up even dirtier and nearly get killed by a jaguar!"  
"With all due respect ma'am, you may want to get a pair of spectacles, because that is not a jaguar."  
"What is it, then?"  
"I don't know. I don't think its classified in any science, actually."  
Muriel frowned thoughtfully, handing Lilly the box before going over to the body.  
"Well I'll be damned," she murmured.  
"What is it?"  
"Lilly, I think you may have just discovered a new species!"  
Lilly gasped. "Really?!"  
"Yes! This appears to be what the locals call 'tai-acu-iara', or water jaguar. They also call it 'onca d'agua'; tapir nymph."  
"Doesn't look like a nymph to me..."  
Muriel smiled. "I thought it was just a legend or a case of mistaken identity, but it seems the beast is real!"   
She laughed in the happiest way she could, a sound that reminded Lilly of jingling bells.  
"Anyway," she continued, "we should send this body back to America."  
"You mean to the Society?"  
"No, to New Jerusalem," corrected Muriel. "This can be Pellinore's early birthday present."


End file.
